Mr. Vincent Roddy:

On the last points raised, I will pick up from Mr. Cullinan's comments on the public sentiment, the impact of Brexit and how the British could view it. Currently Britain does need beef, so we have to recognise that. Whatever the sentiment is or is not, they will still need food. Ireland is best placed to put that in there right now. Going forward, however, there is the long-term concern that they may move towards other countries. Mr. Cullinan raised the point, which we have also pushed, on the development of a naturally reared suckler beef brand. This has huge merit and especially in the UK. It will also have massive merit right across Europe.

In response to the point about sentiment in the UK, as Mr. O'Donnell has previously outlined, we have one advantage that most other operators into Britain do not have, namely, the first, second and third generation Irish. While most of them identify as English, they still have a loyalty to Ireland and to Irish products and that is something we can benefit from.

A hard Brexit is a major concern. We hope it does not happen but if it does, we must put in place proper supports for farmers, including direct supports and supports for intervention if necessary. That will have to happen. In the event of a hard Brexit, we also need to look at the impact on British beef and lamb going to Europe. Currently, approximately €500 million worth of British beef is going into Europe. I know it is lower end cuts but there is a potential for us to make a play for that. In addition, more than €400 million worth of British lamb is going into Europe. That is important but I come back to a point that has been raised over and over again, which is the need to make sure we can get the product to the market in time. That is the reason the land bridge has worked quite well but, unfortunately, it is going to present major problems whatever happens on 1 January.

We need more ferries. We welcome the fact that a ferry has been put in place between Rosslare and Dunkirk, but we believe that we need more. We believe Rosslare is the best port to use. More ferries are needed and they must be put in place. Currently, the exports from Ireland into the UK are worth €3 billion a year. That is between meat and dairy produce. Some 85% of that goes through the land bridge and that is not going to be possible from January.